We’re delighted you’re thinking of joining Dudley College for your studies. We wanted to tell you more about the types of financial support you may be able to receive, depending on your personal circumstances, and how to apply for and access this support.
New for the 2025-26 academic year, we are introducing PayMyStudent, an online way to manage the range of financial support which may be available to you as a 16–18-year-old or adult learner here at college.
Financial Support for 16-18
If you’re aged 16-18 then your course will be free to study.
This is specifically for Learners who are care experienced . Eligible learners may receive a bus pass, free college meals and other course related items such as kit and uniform dependant on study programme.
You can only apply for a Vulnerable Bursary of up to £1200 if you are in one of the groups that have been defined by the Government as being a ‘vulnerable group of Learners’ and meet the eligibility criteria. This includes young people who are living apart from their parents and are:
- Looked after (in care) or have recently left care (Care Order in force)
- A care leaver
- In receipt of Income Support (or Universal Credit) in their own right (not their parents)
- Disabled and in receipt of both Employment & Support Allowance (Universal Credit) and Disability Living Allowance (Personal Independence Payments) in their own right (not their parents)
- Have caring responsivities for a child and are living independently from their parents – have a tenancy agreement in their own name. You will need to provide up to date evidence to confirm receipt of your Benefit, plus a tenancy agreement in your own name ~ or a recent letter from Social Services confirming your care status.
- All full time 16/18-year-old learners will be issued with an electronic* West Midlands Travel bus pass for term 1 to help with the transition to college. The bus pass will be issued to a mobile device. To receive the bus pass learners should install the Travel West Midlands Mticket app on their phone and create an account within the app using their college email address, all college email addresses start with a learner number (for example 00123456) followed by @dudleylearners.co.uk.
- The app needs to be on the learner’s phone not a parents or guardians. Links for the app are as follows:
- Continuing travel support for terms 2 and 3 is confirmed once a 16/18 bursary application is submitted with household income evidence, so an income assessment can be carried out.
- Application is made via PayMyStudent or alternatively a direct link can be emailed to learners. Link requests should be emailed to the student finance team at studentfinanceteam@dudleycol.ac.uk.
*Learners who do not have access to a smartphone should contact the student finance team at studentfinanceteam@dudleycol.ac.uk or can call to speak to a member of the team on 01384 363 555 about alternative bus pass types.
Free meals at college are slightly different to free meals at school as there is an eligibility criteria linked to household income. This can mean learners may not be eligible for a free meal at college even if they received a free meal at school. There are two type of free meal schemes:
Government free college meals
To be eligible for free meals learners must:
- Be aged between 16 and 18 years on 31 August 2025 or
- Be aged over 19 who are continuing the same study programme (19+ continuers) you started before you turned 19 or
- Be aged over 19 and have a valid Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP)
In addition to the above, learners or their parents must be receipt of one or more of the following benefits:
- Income Support
- Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- Support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- The guaranteed element of State Pension Credit
- Child Tax Credit (provided they are not entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190, as assessed by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC))
- Universal Credit with net earnings not exceeding the equivalent of £7,400 per annum
College Discretionary free meals
To be eligible for college free meals you must:
- Be aged between 16 and 18 years on 31 August 2025 or
- Be aged over 19 who are continuing the same study programme (19+ continuers) you started before you turned 19 or
- Have a total household income of below £42,000 per annum – this will be determined by a full income assessment carried out by the student finance team at Dudley college of Technology
How do learners access their free meal
The free meals system here at college is a cashless electronic system embedded into learner ID badges. Eligible learners receive a credit of £5.00 for each of their timetabled days, the credit can be redeemed at any of Dudley College food outlets easily by presenting an eligible ID badge at the till. The free meals credit is refreshed each timetabled day, any credit left on the card at the end of the college day is removed, so each new day starts with the full £5.00 entitlement – this system will not allow learners to build up credit over a period of days.
How do Learners apply for free meals
Learners wishing to apply for free college meals should make an application via the PayMyStudent portal ensuring they submit income evidence . Applications submitted without necessary evidence cannot be processed.
Learners under the age of 20 can apply for help with the cost of childcare to cover timetabled hours.
An OFSTED registered childcare provider must be used and no support can be offered for informal or unregistered childcare. Childcare funding will be for agreed hours/costs only and is capped at £65 per child per day up to a maximum of £180 per week (regardless of number of children), where a childcare provider charges above the capped rate, the learner is expected to pay the difference and Dudley College reserve the right not to meet the costs of retainer fees when said fees are deemed to be too high.
Please note: where a child is aged 3 or 4 at the start of the 2025/26 academic year or turns 3 during the year they will be eligible for Nursery Education Funding (NEF) this entitles eligible children to 15 hours of free nursery education, this also relates to some 2 year olds who may be eligible for the government scheme called Time for Twos, these 15 hours must be used to cover the learner’s childcare needs in the first instance whilst at college. Where the 15 hours is not sufficient to cover all timetabled lessons Dudley college may fund a small “top up”.
Learners should not begin using a childcare provider before confirmation of eligibility from Dudley College is confirmed as any fees incurred with be the learners responsibly.
Financial Support for Adults (19+)
Dudley College of Technology has a Learner Support Fund for learners aged 19 and over. This provides means tested grants to help you with costs as a result of your studies. This can include support towards travel costs, books, equipment or stationery.
For more details or advice on how financial support relates to you, please contact one of our specialist team at The Broadway who will be pleased to help you.
Call 01384 363 555 or email studentfinanceteam@dudleycol.ac.uk
Studying whilst claiming benefits
A number of our courses offer discounts for those unemployed and/or on active benefits. If you are claiming discounted fees, you must be able to provide evidence of your eligibility.
The 19+ Bursary Fund is a means tested fund and is in place to help Dudley College Learners whose household income is below £35,000 per annum and may be experiencing financial hardship to complete their course.
Funds are awarded to eligible Learners to help them cover the essential costs of attending College, such as transport, equipment and exam fees and childcare.
The fund cannot help with tuition fees.
To apply for help from the 19+ discretionary hardship fund please complete an application and a bank details form.
To be eligible to receive the 19+ discretionary hardship fund Learners must:
- be 19 or over on 31st August 2025
- be enrolled on a course that is approved for funding – we will check this before making any awards
- have ‘home’ Learner’s status, Pre settle or settle status, or have been granted full ‘refugee’ or ‘asylum seeker’ status (British Citizens normally have ‘home Learner’ status)
- have been ordinarily resident in the UK or EEA continuously for the last 3 years before the start of your course, with ‘settled’ status which means having indefinite leave to enter or remain
- not exceed the income threshold limit of £35,000 joint income if living with spouse/partner and single applicant living independently.
The following Learners are not eligible to apply:
- Learners on Higher Education Courses
- Learners on Work Based Learning/Waged Apprenticeships
- Learners who have where necessary applied for and been awarded an Advanced Learner Loan
- Learners aged under 19 on 31 August 2022- these Learners can apply to the 16-18 Bursary Fund
Learners who have found finances have been holding them back from starting a course, can now apply for a loan to help with the cost of course fees! Advanced Learner Loans help with the cost of fees for eligible courses at Level 3 or above. Household income isn’t taken into account and there’s no credit check. Learners will not have to pay anything back until they have finished their course and are earning over the Learner Loans company threshold.
How much can you get as an Advanced Learner Loan?
The amount awarded by Student Finance England depends on:
- the type of course
- how much the fees are for the course – the minimum loan is £300.
Which courses are eligible for an Advanced Learner Loan?
Courses at Level 3 or above qualify (such as a Certificate/Diploma or an Advanced or Higher Apprenticeship).
To get a loan Learners must be:
- 19 or older on the first day they start a course and the start day of the course must be on or after the 1st August 2025 (there’s no upper age limit)
- living in the UK on the first day of their course, and have lived in the UK, the Channel islands or the Isle of Man for 3 years immediately before the start date of the course Studying at this College or a training organisation in England approved for public funding
- Learners who are aged 19 – 23 and do not already have a full Level 3 qualification, will be entitled to receive free tuition and won’t need to apply for an Advanced Learner Loan. Where learners are aged 19 – 23 and already have a full Level 3 qualification, they can apply for an Advanced Learner Loan.
How many Advanced Learner Loans can a Learner apply for?
Learners can apply for more than one Advanced Learning Loan (up to 4 in total). Learners can also receive a loan for courses of the same level and type (e.g. Level 3 Diploma in Hair and Level 3 Diploma in Barbering) and will be able to take out further loans to complete different types or levels of eligible courses.
How to apply for an Advanced Learner Loan?
- Learners can apply for apply for an Advanced Learner Loan at www.gov.uk/advanced-learner-loan. Request the course code from our Learner finance team from June/July for courses starting in September.
- Learners will need a National Insurance number before any money can be paid and should have this available to enter on the loan application form along with passport details or where no passport details can be given another form of identity to apply – e.g. birth certificate.
Paying back an advanced learner loan: Learners pay back a loan (plus interest) when they have finished their course and start earning more than the Learner Loans Company income threshold. If income drops below this amount repayment will stop. Each month learners will pay back 9% of any income over the threshold.
Leaving or changing a course once an advanced learner loan is approved: Learners who leave or change their course after 2 weeks will have to pay back any money that has been paid to the College.
Access to Higher Education (HE) and an advanced learner loan: Learners who get a loan to cover tuition fees for an Access to HE course (e.g. a course that prepare learners for Higher Education) and then successfully complete a higher education course, will not have to repay the remaining loan for the Access course.
Support for course related costs and childcare: Learners who take out an Advanced Learner Loan can assess the 19+ Discretionary hardship fund in the same way as our 19+ learners.
For more details about Advanced Learning Loans please visit www.gov.uk/advanced-learner-loan or contact the Learner Finance team on 01384 363 555.
Adult learners over the age of 20 can apply for help with the cost of childcare to cover timetabled hours.
An OFSTED registered childcare provider must be used and no support can be offered for informal or unregistered childcare. Childcare funding will be for agreed hours/costs only and is capped at £65 per child per day, up to a maximum of £180 per week (regardless of number of children), where a childcare provider charges above the capped rate, the learner is expected to pay the difference and Dudley College reserve the right not to meet the costs of retainer fees when said fees are deemed to be too high.
Please note: where a child is aged 3 or 4 at the start of the 2025/26 academic year or turns 3 during the year they will be eligible for Nursery Education Funding (NEF) this entitles eligible children to 15 hours of free nursery education, this also relates to some 2 year olds who may be eligible for the government scheme called Time for Twos, these 15 hours must be used to cover the learner’s childcare needs in the first instance whilst at college. Where the 15 hours is not sufficient to cover all timetabled lessons Dudley college may fund a small “top up”.
Learners should not begin using a childcare provider before confirmation of eligibility from Dudley College is confirmed as any fees incurred with be the learners responsibly.
Learners wishing to enrol on a Higher Education course here at Dudley college may be able to borrow money to help pay for college tuition fees and to help with living costs.
Learners might get extra money on top of this, for example if on a low income, or are disabled or have children.
Most full-time and part-time students can apply online to Student Finance England by completing the following steps:
- Set up a student finance online account.
- Log in and complete the online application.
- Include your household income if needed. Learners parent or partner will be asked to confirm these details.
- Send in proof of identity, if needed.
Where learners cannot apply online, they can call Student Finance England for support.
Please visit www.gov.uk for further information or make an appointment with a member of the student finance team at Dudley College for further support.